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Meet the colonial girl who became a Native American in this middle grade historical fiction novel, part of the Based on a True Story series.

What happens when everything you know is suddenly ripped away? This is the fate of Mary Jemison, a fifteen-year-old frontier girl living in Pennsylvania in 1758. How does Mary find the will to carry on?

During the French and Indian War, Mary is captured by a band of French and Shawnee warriors and led deep into the woods. After her family is killed, Mary is traded to the Seneca and taken in by two sisters. Renamed Dehgewanus, she finds her place among the Seneca and embarks on a new way of life. But when given the choice, will Mary return to the world she once knew or remain with her adopted family?

Mary Jemison: Native American Captive by Jane Kelley writing as E. F. Abbott, with illustrations by Clint Hansen is a fascinating novel for young readers, featuring black-and-white illustrations and photographs throughout. This title has Common Core connections.

The Based on a True Story books by E. F. Abbott are exciting historical fiction stories about real children who lived through extraordinary times in American History. Other books in the Based on a True Story series include Sybil Ludington: Revolutionary War Rider, John Lincoln Clem: Civil War Drummer Boy, and Nettie and Nellie Crook: Orphan Train Sisters.

"This fascinating account of a real person weaves many factual details from an interview with Mary Jemison in 1823 and Abbott’s own imaginings of the characters’ feelings and thoughts, all based on her research about Mary Jemison’s life and the Seneca tribe. . . . With clear and simple writing, the story is easy to comprehend, but fast-paced and engaging. . . . Readers will be riveted by the life story of Mary Jemison while captivated by the history of Colonial America and the relationships between the colonists and the Native American tribes." —Children's Literature

E. F. Abbott is a pseudonym for Jane Kelley, author of The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, The Book of Dares for Lost Friends,and other middle-grade novels. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.